Yes.....it is an interesting album. Probably a keeper but quite different to his Porcupine Tree material.

I was fortunate enough to attend PT's last performance at the Albert Hall in 2010 and I miss them now more than ever. When he released 'Transcience' a couple of years ago and referred to it as 'his more accessible music' I think it was pretty obvious that he would lighten up eventually :O)

How ironic that after nearly 30 years at it, and when asked for a single by the record company back in the 90s he presented them with 'Moonloop' (circa 40 minutes long!), it’s his poppiest project that actually gets him his first British No.1.

Beautifully produced as usual and the Out of Print Box Set has everything you could want, CD, 24/96 2-ch , 24/96 5.1-ch and an instrumental version of all tracks. The second CD is full of demo versions and songs that missed the cut (incl. 'Ask Me Nicely ' the original title track).

A keeper and definitely a grower.

~M~

P.S. Apparently SW was on the red sofa of BBC Breakfast this morning and also in The Guardian newspaper. Gonna be a lot of Prog Rockers needing counselling this weekend :O)

For jazz fans - there's a great talent coming! Andrea Motis!

A still very young Spaniard who sings excellent and plays the trumpet just as well. Their interpretations of some of the Jazz standards are really peculiar and surprising. TIDAL has some albums of her.
On YouTube under Andrea Motis there are some music films from her and her group.
The Hallelujah of her also gets under her skin. I am curious about the course of her career!

Have fun listening

The national - sleep well beast.

Exceptional album.

David Gilmour Live in Pompeii on Bluray. Beautifully photographed, great sound quality. Some classics, some recents so a nice balanced set list. I remember as a kid, bands like Pink Floyd were blacklisted as 'dinosaurs' and it must amuse DG that, in his 70s, he can still provide a very artistic, thoughtful, expressive and occasionally explosive entertainment that is a joy to behold.

Good on him !

Highly Recommended,

~M~

David Coverdale's "Northwinds" album. I know it's old (to put it mildly) but it really is a corker. I had it donkey's years ago on vinyl then promptly forgot all about it then rediscovered it & bought the CD a year or two ago. Brilliant; some rock, some blues, some other stuff. Plus his great voice.

He's the vocalist that replaced Ian Gillan in Deep Purple, in case people don't know who he is.

Whilst the forum was down due to migration (thanks again to Duncs) I spent my time searching and listening to new music to me.
I found Pierre Bensusan and can highly recommend this artists repertoire / albums.
An acoustic genius, well worth a listen, especially the later albums featuring his 2009 signature George Lowden (Irish Guitar Maker) instrument. No MQA required here, however it would be interesting to hear this stuff in MQA.

Hector

Joey Alexander

Just been introduced to this child prodigy / genius.



Four albums on UK TIDAL. I started with the wonderful "Countdown".

And in the ' Now for Something Completely Different ' category I recently saw Alice Cooper live in Dublin in one of the finest nights fun Ive ever had at a gig and checked out some of his recent stuff that I hadn't heard on Tidal . The album that stood head and shoulders above the others is the ' Hollywood Vampires ' album of mostly covers either written or played on by members of the original Hollywood Vampires Drinking Club (Cooper/ Keith Moon/Harry Nilsson/John Lennon/John Belushi/ Joe Walsh/Marc Bolan/Bernie Taupin/ Ringo Starr/Mickey Dolenz/Keith Emerson) among many other casuals . Classic 60s and 70s tracks like My Generation , Itchycoo Park , Whole Lotta Love , Jeepster , Break on Through (To the Other Side ), and Cold Turkey featuring Joe Perry and Johnny Depp , and a motley guest list including Paul McCartney , Joe Walsh , Brian Johnson , Dave Grohl , Sir Christopher Lee (!) and many others .

Hardly a track over 3 minutes long it just flies by , Cooper's voice is in great shape ( amazingly he turns 70 in February ) and the live in studio recording method really makes it sound like the band had so much fun making it .

Great stuff !

~M~

Recommended for the Acoustic lovers here, try Thomas Leeb playing his beautiful George Lowden guitar. The album "Upside Down" is particularly satisfying.
Never heard such tonal balance, wonderful definition and incredible sustain across the complete fretboard before, produced by Lowden instruments.

Absolutely stunning!

Other Lowden players to listen to are:-
Paul Brady
Alex De Grassi
Pierre Bensusan
Tony Ackerman
Jon Gomm
and of course the great Richard Thompson
Lastly, but not least, I include Joseph Hoare and his album "Joseph Hoare" for your listening pleasure.

5200SE here, really do this music justice.

Enjoy Hector

Unashamed plug of a family friend Birth Marks - EP by Sam Deed on @AppleMusic.

Also available on Spotify and possibly Google.

Who needs MQA when you get a real live rendition in your front room

Couldn’t put it better, it’s the charm of The Little Rabbit Barn. That’s what MQA is trying to achieve but you can’t beat the real deal... Chris